Are You Sure It's Love?
by Wilting Rose 08
Summary: At the end of sixth year, while the Marauders are still recovering from the Whomping Willow incident, and Sirius and James have only recently made up, James gets some surprising, not really pleasant news. What is it? You'll have to read to find out! JP
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line. I am making no money off this. All hail JKR as the most marvelous brain behind these wonderful characters.

Author's Note: I can practically hear the groans at a new story instead of an update. I promise, I'm working on them! I've just had an amazing amount of homework so far, especially group projects, which I hate with a passion! If it helps, this isn't newly written, it's something I found. It's also in it's fourth version. Lol. Anyway, on with the story...

Are You Sure It's Love

Sirius's Point of View

This last month has been horrible. Hardly anyone would speak to me. Now, don't get me wrong, I do realize that I deserve much worse than a month of the silent treatment from my best friends for what I did. It was worse than anything I could have possibly done. It was the absolute worst. I told Snape how to find Remus during full moons. It was all my fault, and I know it. Of course, I wouldn't have done it if Snape hadn't… Never mind. It was all my fault. Thankfully, they've pretty much forgiven me now, although Remus doesn't trust me, at all. Sadly enough, I can't say that I blame him. It's hard enough living without your best friends, but living without your boyfriend, too…

Not from any particular point of view

Sirius scanned the common room, looking for James. Since the two had made up last week, they didn't like to be apart. Of course, that started pretty many rumors among all the students. The two didn't care. The ones they were close to knew the truth, and the rest of the school didn't matter. Of course, it was more than just a little amusing to _listen_ to all the rumors. They had heard that one or the other was a vampire, and the one who wasn't was now a blood servant. They had heard that they had discovered they were _really_ long lost brothers. They had heard they were dating. The people in the last group didn't know how right they were. Sirius and James had been dating ever since September, although Sirius's slip had almost ruined it. Now, however, they were back together, and back to full force.

There were only two other people who definitely knew about them, Remus and Peter. However, Sirius suspected that Remus's girlfriend, Lily, had it pretty well figured out as well, although she still didn't know why no one would speak to Sirius for a month. Everyone wanted it to stay that way, too, at least for the time being.

Right now, however, Sirius was just going to enjoy being back with James, and the fact that there was only a week of school left.

They got down to breakfast that morning just before the owls flew in. A large brown one flew immediately over to James. He opened the letter stuck to the owl's leg. As he read, his face steadily paled. Sirius, concerned, leaned over to read over his shoulder.

Dear James,

How are you? I hope all is well. I know that you wrote a few weeks ago, saying that you and Sirius weren't talking. Is everything alright now?

I guess I should quit the chit-chat and just come out and tell you why I'm writing, huh? You remember Paula, right? You met her a few times last summer. I guess I should just cut to the chase. I proposed, and she said yes. We're getting married about a month after you and her son get back from school.

See you at Kings Cross,

Lots of love,

Dad

Sirius's eyes widened in shock. So Mr. Potter was getting remarried? No wonder James was upset. James and his mother had been very close before Mrs. Potter had come down with cancer. That had been the year before James had started Hogwarts. She had died the November after. Sirius still vividly remembered James's tear stained face as he was led out Transfiguration to where his father was waiting for him. James and his father hadn't been close, as Mr. Potter was often at work. However, after his wife's death, Mr. Potter didn't go into the office quite as much, and both father and son made more of an effort to get along. They were now fairly close. Sirius knew that, to James, this would be almost like losing his mum all over again, only now there wouldn't be someone else there who knew about what he was going through. At least, not until he got used to 'Paula,' whoever that was.

"This is just great," James said sarcastically, crumpling up the letter. "Doesn't even have the decency to come tell me in person. Just fuking great."

"Maybe he couldn't," Sirius offered timidly.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's completely tied down," James said, continuing the sarcasm. "Ew! Bad mental picture!" Sirius smirked, but wisely chose not to say anything. "Come on, we've got a Defense Against the Dark Arts exam to get to." With that, the pair stood up to continue the day, James trying to forget about the letter with little success.

All too soon, it was time to board the Hogwarts Express to go home for the summer. None of the Marauders but Peter were looking forward to arriving at Kings Cross Station. He chatted merrily for the better part of the time, excited about his plans for the summer.

The train reached Kings Cross altogether too quickly for Remus, Sirius, and James, but not quickly enough for Peter who, having fallen silent about two hours ago, was quite uncomfortable with the stony silence of the compartment.

Peter joyfully leapt off the train, dragging his trunk behind him, rushing to meet his family, while the other three acted more as if they were being sent to their execution. James _didn't_ want to meet his soon-to-be step-mother and step-brother. Sirius _never_ wanted to go home. Neither did Remus, really, but he was dreading the full moons alone in that small cage in the shed more than anything else.

Peter got off the train to welcoming hugs. Sirius got off the train to a silence cold enough to give a polar bear frostbite. Remus got off the train not expecting anyone at all, as no one had been there the past years, either, and was not disappointed. He sighed, calmly walking over to the floo. James got off the train, not really knowing what to expect.

He walked over to where his father and a lady with long black hair and crystal clear blue eyes were standing. Apparently Paula's son hadn't found them yet. Either that, or he was as eager for this as James was.

"Hello, James," Paula said softly. "It's good to see you again."

"It's nice to see you, too," James forced himself to reply. He hadn't even managed to look at his father yet.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come tell you myself," Jonathan Potter said, correctly guessing the reason why his son was currently the maddest. "But, with all the Death Eater attacks, I rarely even got away from the office to sleep and eat, much less to get the entire way up to Hogwarts."

James nodded, not completely satisfied, but accepting the answer to that particular problem. He knew that the Death Eaters had been extremely active lately, and, as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, his father was usually needed.

"I should have known," a voice from behind James snarled. James turned to see the absolute last person he wanted to see staring back at him.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, how did you like it? Tell me! I need to know! I promise that I'm working on the next chapter of Out of Our Hands, and I might post the next chapter of Heart's Desire very soon. I've had some really insistent plot bunnies lately, but the ones I had for the stories refused to completely reappear. Anyway, I promise those two will be updated soon, especially Out of Our Hands.

Please Review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

Author's Note: It's been an EXTREMELY long time, huh? Ah well. I've been trying to write the second chapter for a while, but it never seemed quite right. Finally I broke down and went back to the original drafts of this story, which I threw away for one reason or another, until I found the one that fit the closest with what I wanted, and changed it from there. Scary thought, huh? These next few chapters have actually been _read_ _over_!Ah well, enjoy!

Are You Sure It's Love?

Chapter 2

"What. The. Fuck," James said, turning around.

"James!" his father exclaimed. "Watch your language."

"Oh don't worry so much," the new comer said. "I had the same reaction when I received Mum's letter."

"You mean you knew who your mother was marrying before today? DAD!" James yelled, forgetting that his arch-nemesis and future stepbrother, Severus Snape was standing behind him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you would have this exact reaction," his father explained calmly.

"So you would rather me lose my temper in a public place than at Hogwarts?" James asked, not believing his ears. "Never mind, forget it. Lets just go." With that, he marched through the barrier.

"Sorry about that," Jonathan said to Paula and Severus.

"It's okay, sweetie," Paula said, giving Jonathan a kiss. "I can understand that this is hard for him."

"Even so, he had no right to respond like that," Jonathan said.

"Don't be too hard on him, it's still a bit of a shock, you know. If he's still having these reactions in a month, then you can yell." Jonathan just smiled and started to follow his son out to the car, realizing that James had no idea where they had parked. Paula and Severus quickly followed as well.

Things were tense at best during the car ride home. James refused to say anything when asked, which was making Jonathan angry. Paula tried to keep conversation going, but it was actually making things worse. Severus was just naturally quiet.

When they got home, James started to walk up to his room. "James!" his father called after him. "You need to get your trunk!"

James just sighed and turned around. He hauled his trunk out of the car before everyone had even gotten out. He then dragged it up to the house, purposely dragging it through mud puddles. He opened the front door, and preceded to drag it across the clean beige carpet, leaving a muddy trail behind him. He didn't care. He quickly got up to his room, where he decided that he needed to write Remus, to tell him that he should have let him jump out the window when he wanted to.

"James!" his father roared from downstairs.

"What?" James yelled back.

"Get down here this instant!" Jonathan Potter yelled.

"Fine," James muttered, knowing perfectly well that this was about the muddy trail he had made through the house.

"What the hell did you do?" his father asked, trying to control his temper, probably for Paula's sake. She was standing behind him, wringing her hands.

"I brought my trunk in like you told me to," James said.

"Could you not have carried it?" Jonathan asked, getting closer to yelling.

"No, it was too heavy," James replied, his temper starting to get out of control as well.

"Did you even try?" Jonathan asked, knowing exactly what the answer would be.

James didn't answer.

"Get up to your room," Jonathan said in a dangerously low voice.

"Going," James shouted.

"You realize you're grounded, don't you?" his father yelled at his retreating back.

James saw Severus flinch out of the corner of his eye, but didn't really care. "You realize that's the best news I've had for two days, don't you?" James yelled back.

"Good, then you can just stay in your room until tomorrow," Jonathan yelled.

"Good, I was planning to. At least this way you can't say that I was being rude for not coming down!" James screamed, finally turning back around. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a letter to write."

"I do believe that's part of what you're grounded from," Jonathan said, glad he had finally thought of something that he could take away that James actually wanted.

"How long am I grounded for?" James asked.

"Until further notice," his father answered.

James stormed up the stairs. Before he slammed the door, he thought he heard Paula telling his father that she hated when he yelled like that.

James sulked on his bed for the better part of an hour, before he heard a knock on the door. "What?" he yelled.

"James, can I come in?" his father asked through the door.

"Whatever, your house," James said, not in the mood to be nice.

"I'm sorry I yelled earlier, but I really don't understand why you are so upset," Jonathan said.

"Hmm, maybe the fact that you are getting married to my worst enemy's mother, and you only saw fit to inform me of this yesterday, although you still didn't tell me _who_ you were marrying," James said.

"Yeah, well," he trailed off. "Anyway, come down to dinner, will you? It would be nice to have all of us together."

"Fine, whatever, but only if I can write letters," James bargained.

"Actually, I was going to ungrounded you, but if you only want to be able to write letters," Jonathan trailed off. James smacked him upside the head with a pillow. Before long they were both laughing.

"Dinner is in about twenty minutes," Jonathan said, when he finally got up to leave.

"Good, then I can tell Remus that he should have let me jump out the window when I had the chance," James said, walking over to his desk.

"Were you going to send that letter regardless of the ban?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes," James answered, sitting down. "I just haven't started it yet because I was busy sulking."

"I'll leave you to it, then," Jonathan said, leaving the room. "Oh, by the way, we're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get clothes for the wedding."

James just shrugged. He then started writing the letter.

Dear Remus,

Thank you ever so much for not letting me jump out the window when I wanted to. Now, I have met my new stepbrother. You'll never believe who it was. Just so you know, I was closer than you were, only even my worst-case scenario was better than what I wound up with. My new stepbrother is Severus Snape. I hope you know that you will be going through the window at the next opportunity. Tomorrow, I am even being dragged out in public with him to get clothes for the wedding. It's about the absolute last thing I want. I have also already had a fight with my dad, although we have already made up. Anyway, just writing to let you know that you had better spend as much time with Lily, because it is not going to be pretty in September. Just kidding. Maybe. I haven't decided yet.

James

James sent the owl off, then walked downstairs to the dining room. Everyone else was already there.

"Sorry I'm late," he murmured as he sat down.

"That's fine," Paula said, relieved that he was in a better mood. "Your actually early."

James felt his father kick him under the table. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew exactly what that meant. "I'm also sorry for being such a brat earlier," he said, not really looking at anybody.

"Quite alright," his dad said, as if James had come up with that all on his own. James just rolled his eyes.

Severus smirked. "So you do have manners?" he asked. James glared at him, but didn't say anything.

"Severus!" Paula exclaimed.

Jonathan glanced at his son. When James refused to look at him, he kicked him under the table. James finally turned, glaring at his father. The look his father gave him was all too clear, but James chose to ignore the meaning. His father clearly wanted him to say that he didn't expect anything else after the way he had acted, but James wasn't going to say it. In his opinion, he acted as was only fitting.

Jonathan chose to change the topic instead of yelling at his son again, which had made both Paula and Severus nervous earlier. "So, we're all going to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" When everyone nodded, even though it took another kick under the table to get James to, he continued. "I figured we would leave at about 10," he said. He didn't get to finish.

"In the morning?" James exclaimed.

"Yes, A.M. The set of hours that you do your best to never see," Jonathan said, teasing his son.

"Well, don't expect me to see it tomorrow unless I stay up past midnight," James said, fully intending on being as stubborn as possible.

"For once, we agree," Severus said to James. "I do not want to go to Diagon Alley."

"Your gonna tell us what we're getting anyway," James said. "Wouldn't you rather not have to bribe us, or more to the point me, into actually trying on, much less wearing the dress robes you pick out? Dad, I've been shopping with you. I know you have no taste in clothes."

"No, your coming," Jonathan said. "If it helps, Paula is picking out the robes."

"Well, that helps a _little_, probably. However, do you remember the last time we went shopping?" James said, not going to give up easily.

"James, you were three," Jonathan said patiently.

"So? Do you realize that one trip went so badly that we have never been clothes shopping again? When I went shopping for Hogwarts, Mum sent you to the Leaky Cauldron for that part of the trip. You realize that you take me to get school supplies, and then send me with either Peter's or Remus's family to get clothes? You HATE it," James said. Severus was laughing. James glared at him, but with none of the usual malice. He recognized the fact that they were on the same side in this, no matter how much they didn't like each other.

"Mum," Severus started. "You know that you don't like to shop that much, especially since we," he motioned to himself and James. "Have made it clear that we don't want to go. Do you really want to drag two sulking teenagers out to look for dress clothes?"

"Regardless," Paula said. "You _are_ both coming, and that _is_ final."

James opened his mouth to argue some more, but closed it after seeing the glare his father sent him.

James and Severus both sulked for the rest of the meal. Paula and Jonathan tried to make conversation. Finally, James had enough. "I'm going to my room," he announced. He stalked out of the room.

"I'm sorry about that," Jonathan said to Paula and Severus. "I really don't know why he insists on acting like this."

Severus didn't respond. He simply followed James out of the dining room. He heard his mother consoling Jonathan, but he didn't really care.

In his room, James heard Severus come up the stairs. James was lying in his bed, staring out the window. He was dreading the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

Are You Sure It's Love?

Chapter 3

The next morning, James was in a bad mood. Not only had he been made to wake up at nine on the first day of summer vacation, but he had to go shopping with his enemy, who was soon going to be his step-brother. He thought he was going to be sick.

They all made it through breakfast and to the Leaky Cauldron in one piece. James flooed first, followed by Severus. Paula and Jonathan apparated. They walked out into the courtyard, and then to Madame Malkin's. They were just about to go in the door, when James heard someone calling him. He turned.

"Hey, James!" It was Peter.

"Hi, Peter," James said. He had forgotten about the shopping trip that the Pettigrews always took at the beginning of the summer.

"What are you doing here? I really didn't think that you would be up before 3 tomorrow," Peter said, not noticing James's father and two other people enter the shop.

"Dad says I need new dress robes for the wedding," James said, sulking.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Peter said.

"Wish I could," James muttered. Peter pretended not to hear him.

"Who is he marrying?" Peter asked.

"Paula," James said.

"Is she nice?" Peter asked, trying to get longer answers.

"Yes," James said, knowing what Peter wanted, but not wanting to speak much.

"Care to elaborate about why your sulking, then?" Peter asked.

"Fine. Paula is fine. It's her son that I have problems with," James explained.

"Oh come on, it couldn't be that bad," Peter said. Severus chose that moment to come out of the shop.

"Your father says that you need to get back in here so we are done quicker. You were right, he is miserable at this."

"I'm always right," James responded. "The sooner you realize that, the easier this is going to be."

Peter stared in shock as Snape went back into the robe shop. "Your new step brother is _Snape_?" Peter exclaimed.

"Yes. That is exactly how bad it could be. I have already wrote Remus, informing him that, in retaliation for him not letting me go through the carriage window, he will be when we get back to school, and I don't want to write Sirius, who knows what could happen if his parents found out we'd been writing to each other," James said, an odd look on his face. "I need to go, apparently. See you later." With that, he turned and walked back into the shop. He started laughing. Just seeing the expression on Peter's face was almost worth all of this. Almost.

"What are we supposed to be looking for, exactly?" James asked.

"Dress robes, duh," Severus said.

"No kidding," James said, rolling his eyes. "And here I thought that we had come in here to find an owl."

"Well, we can't help what you thought," Severus said. As much as James hated to admit it, throwing insults back and forth was kinda fun. At least if you forgot who you were talking to.

"Now, directed to the people here with at least a few brain cells," James said. "What kind of dress robe are we looking for? Does it need to be fancier or more casual? What color?"

"They shouldn't be too fancy, so you can wear them some other time. Black," Paula said.

"Really? I thought we agreed on a shade of blue," Jonathan said, glancing at his fiancée.

"We did. What I meant was that Titus Black just walked in the store," Paula said, nodding towards the newcomer, that had started to head in their direction.

"Well, well, what do we have here. Paula, I know that you didn't think that Daniel was good enough for you, but I really expected you to take a step up, not fall further back," Titus said.

"Well, Titus, that is really none of your business," Paula said. She started to leave.

"Not so fast," Titus said, grabbing her shoulder. Jonathan grabbed Titus's hand, and threw it off his wife-to-be.

"What do you want, Black?" Jonathan asked.

"Just to tell Paula that no matter how much I despise her choice in men, I am properly punishing my son for that stunt he pulled in April."

When he said this, James's eyes got wide. "What did you do?" he asked, fearfully.

"Nothing yet," Titus sneered. That didn't help how James was feeling. "I'm leaving now, I just thought that I should tell you that my son will be punished for his actions."

"What's wrong, James?" Jonathan asked, once Titus had left. James just shook his head, a fearful expression on his face.

"Well, we should get back to the robes," Jonathan said, deciding that he would get James to tell him when they got home.

They managed to buy the robes with minimal hassle, mostly because James was still too distracted. When his father asked if he wanted to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies, James just shook his head, and said he wanted to go home.

"Are you sick?" Jonathan asked, joking.

"Not yet, but I just might be," James answered. Jonathan looked alarmed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, actually concerned this time.

"Nothing yet, apparently," James said, looking thoughtful. As if making up his mind, he said, "If you want, you can go ahead and shop. I'm going home." With that, he turned and walked back to the Leaky Cauldron.

When he got home, he hurriedly ran up to his room. He was just sitting down to write to Sirius when he realized just how stupid it would sound.

"What would I say? You're in danger? Yeah, he already knew that."

"Since when do you talk to yourself?" Severus asked, coming into the room without knocking.

"Well, _Severus_," James said, being glad he was turned around so the other boy couldn't see the grimace on his face. "I started when the number of people to have an intelligent conversation with took a nose dive. Why are you here?"

"Are you getting senile in your old age? I live here, remember?" Severus said, smirking.

Again, glad that the other couldn't see his expression, James said, "Of course I didn't forget. I just figured that you would spend so much time in that potions store that they would eventually have to kick you out when it closed."

"Oh ha ha. And I'm sure that's never happened to you in the Quidditch store."

"Of course not," James rolled his eyes. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a letter to decided whether to write or not."

"Is a common Gryffindor trait not having enough brains to form coherent sentences?" Severus asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Yes, it is. It's the first thing to go," James said, again rolling his eyes. "Would you just get out of my room?"

"Are you going to ask nicely?"

"No, I'm not. Now leave."

"Why should I?"

"Because I want you to."

"Is forming good excuses the second thing to go?"

"Yes, now GET OUT!" James yelled, finally losing his patience. Just then, an owl flew over to the window. James jumped up to get it. The owl flew out the window as soon as the letter was pulled off his leg. James scanned the letter. "On second thought," he said, turning to Severus. "I'll leave. Did Dad come back with you?"

"Yes," Severus said, turning to go, now that their "fight" was over.

James rushed from the room, beating Severus out, even though he was farther away to begin with.

"Dad!" James yelled, running into the kitchen. "Can I go over to Remus's tonight?"

"Why?" his dad asked.

"Because he invited me," James said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I guess," Jonathan said.

"Isn't it the full moon?" Paula said, glancing at the calendar.

"It is," Jonathan agreed. "What exactly were you planning on doing?"

"Going camping," James said trying to keep a straight face. At that moment, Severus walked in.

"Only _you_ would joke about something like that," he said, sitting down by the table.

"Ha ha, very funny," James said, rolling his eyes.

"No jokes, what are you really going to do?" Jonathan asked.

"We _were_ going to take our traditional hike-through-the-woods-at-midnight hike, but I take it that's forbidden," James said, trying not to laugh. Severus just rolled his eyes, looking like he wanted to say something but was unable to. Jonathan seemed to realize he wasn't going to get a straight answer, because he finally just settled for "Be careful."


	4. Chapter 4

Are You Sure It's Love?

Chapter 4

"Hey, Remus," James said, practically falling out of the fireplace.

"Hi James," Remus said, barely glancing up from his book. Neither said anything for a while. "Fine, if I have to ask," Remus said, almost throwing his book down. "What is it like living with Snape?"

"Well, it's not as bad as you'd think," James smiled. "It's actually, and don't tell anyone I said this, I do have a reputation to protect, kinda fun."

Remus looked like he was about to faint. "Did you just say it was _fun _living with _Snape_?"

"Alright, not _fun_, but tolerable. At the moment, we're on the same side of most of the arguments. And I think he really tries to please his mum, which keeps him on better behavior. Add that to the fact that I've gotten in trouble already for _not_ being nice and my dad and I hardly ever fight, yeah, we're going to work harder to keep things friendlier," James explained.

"Uh-huh, sure," Remus said.

"Oh, and by the way, I have been told not to camp or hike any time after nightfall. I have also been told not to go outdoors. Apparently, it's the full moon and werewolves are lurking behind every tree," James said, laughing.

"Oh ha ha," Remus said, going back to his book. "_Very_ funny. I'm sure Snape just loved it when he heard you were coming over here."

"Ah yes, damn hard to convince him to let me come over. You see, he's very concerned. Especially since he didn't know until he walked in on my conversation with Dad and Paula. Most upset I didn't consult him first. You know how little you can do if you don't have the approval of the person who is going to be your step-brother," James said, grinning.

"Okay, okay, I get the point," Remus muttered. "Have you talked to Sirius?"

James sighed, and shook his head. "Not since school let out. I'm really worried. We saw his father in Diagon Alley earlier today, and he basically said he was going to hurt Sirius as much as he could." James sighed again.

They wasted the time until the full moon up in Remus's room, talking about this and that, although mainly how much James didn't want his dad to get married.

"We've got to go," Remus said about an hour before nightfall. "I can feel the pull already." Both ran downstairs to the shed Remus used to transform. They passed Mr. and Mrs. Lupin in the living room. They already knew that James, Sirius, and Peter had become anamagi. They were very glad that their son had such loyal friends, even if one had… But they didn't like to think about that.

The next day, James went home. He hadn't had any sleep in over 24 hours, and he was dead on his feet. He didn't even have enough energy to drag himself up to his room, he just passed out on the couch in the living room.

"Long night last night?" Jonathan asked his son, having heard him come home. James only mumbled something unintelligent. "You know, the typical, normal person _sleeps_ when they sleep over at a friend's house."

"No, your thinking of the _atypical_, _abnormal_ people," James smirked into the cushion his face was currently buried in. "Now please, no talking. Too tired."

"Alright," Jonathan laughed, leaving the room.

No one disturbed James until dinner, when they decided that maybe he should eat something, but then he could go back to bed. He did drag himself into the dining room, and managed to stay upright the entire time, but he was glad it wasn't like school, where there would have been a quiz on what all was said.

"James, are you listening?" Jonathan asked, amused, about halfway through dinner.

"Yeah, sure Dad, I completely agree," James answered vaguely.

"What exactly did you do last night?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, it sure wasn't sleep," James joked. Jonathan didn't look amused. "May I be excused?" James asked, not wanting to answer any questions.

"Not yet, we still have a few things to discuss, and it will go faster if you listen this time," Jonathan said.

"Fine, talk," James said, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, tomorrow, we finish the final wedding preparations, and then the wedding will be in two days," Paula started. Severus nodded as if he knew this, so James decided to keep his mouth shut, figuring that he would just get into more trouble for admitting that he hadn't been paying attention for what appeared to be quite some time. "Will you both be helping us?" She glanced at James and Severus, who both nodded, although somewhat reluctantly. "Alright, now that's settled, James, you may go to bed."

"Thanks," James said. He waited until he was out of the room to roll his eyes.

The next day passed in a blur. James didn't know that there were so many things that could be put off until the last minute. James decided that if he ever got married, he was going to elope.

When James woke up the morning of the wedding, he immediately knew he didn't want to get up. He dreaded the rest of the day. It was one of those days that might not be _terrible_, but that you really didn't want to experience.

"James?" he heard his dad call through the door. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," James sighed. He climbed out of bed, and went downstairs to breakfast.

When he got down there, he noticed that Jonathan was the only one there. When he asked about this, Jonathan replied, "Paula and Severus already went to the church. She said that she had some last minute things to check, and he said he'd go with her. You really need to finish and get dressed. We have to leave in an hour at the latest." James nodded, shoveling food in his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in at least a week. He then ran upstairs, and put on the new robes, grumbling to himself the entire time.

"I'm ready," he said, coming down the stairs with about thirty minutes left to spare. They rushed out the door.

The rest of the day passed in a blur for James. It was a day when you could remember random muments, but not the entire thing. Before he really knew what was happening, he and Severus had went home, and Jonathan and Paula were apparating to the Leaky Cauldron for the first night of their honeymoon, before continuing on the next day. If James had understood correctly, which he was betting he hadn't, they planned on randomly picking places on a map, and then apparating to that spot. They were going to do that for at least a month.

The next morning, James was surprised to see that Severus wasn't up yet. He had been up first everyday since summer vacation had begun. James wasn't _too_ concerned, until it got to be about 2 in the afternoon. He decided to go check on him.

"Severus?" he called, knocking on the door. Eventually, the door was pulled open, and a very sleepy-looking Severus was standing in the doorway.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"Just wondered why you hadn't gotten up. You've gotten up earlier than me every morning up until now, and were still asleep at 2," James explained.

"Well, I was up very late last night making a potion," Severus answered, although James noticed that he wasn't really looking him in the eye.

"Alright, whatever, I'm going back downstairs. Natty made an amazing lunch. I think there is still some left if you decide you want some," James said, referring to the house elf.

They fell into an easy pattern over the next couple of days. At earliest, they would get up at noon, and wouldn't go to bed until at least midnight. All that changed one night, about four days after Paula and Jonathan had left.

Severus and James were sitting in the living room, watching a muggle movie that they had found on TV. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," James said, getting up from where he was curled up on the couch. Severus merely nodded, being so engrossed with his book that he had barely noticed.

James glanced out the window to see who was at the door, even though he figured it was probably useless. If someone had really wanted to get in, there wasn't much to stop them. He couldn't really see the person. It was really dark, and the front porch was shadowy. He pulled open the door.

"Oh my God," he gasped, catching sight of his best friend.

"Sorry…no where else to go…probably hate me…I'll just leave," Sirius muttered, somewhat incoherently. He was covered in blood, and his arm was hanging at an odd angle.

"Don't be ridiculous, get in here," James said, helping him in the door. Sirius could barely walk anymore, having come the entire way from London. It was longer than James had ever realized, especially since the only time he really saw any of the distance was from the comfort of a car. Sirius made it into the hall, and then collapsed against James, unconscious.

At this point, Severus came out of the living room, wondering just what was going on to keep James so long. He gasped at the sight.

"Can you get Natty for me?" James asked, heading for the stairs. "Tell her to come to my bedroom."

"And why are you asking for a house elf instead of a MediWitch, or taking him to St. Mungo's?" Severus asked, even though he was already heading for the kitchen.

"Because, if we take him to St. Mungo's, then they'll ask a bunch of questions, and tell his parents. The only Mediwitch that I know that would normally come over probably wouldn't," James said, halfway up the stairs.

"And just who is that?"

"Mrs. Lupin. Although she would probably come if Remus asked her to. That might be something to think about tomorrow. Right now, however, Natty will do just fine."

Severus disappeared, in search of the house elf, while James continued to half carry, half tug the unconscious Sirius up the stairs to his room. He laid him on his bed, and waited impatiently for Natty.


	5. Chapter 5

Are You Sure It's Love?

Chapter 5

Natty got up to the room in about three minutes, but it felt a lot longer to James. He was pacing back and forth across the room.

"Natty!" he exclaimed, hearing the house elf pop into the room. "Can you help?" He motioned to the still unconscious Sirius laying on the bed.

Natty's eyes widened when she saw the figure. "What is you wanting Natty to do?" she asked.

"Anything you possibly can, particularly with his arm," James replied. Natty worked for quite a while, and by the time she was done, Sirius's arm was healed, he wasn't as bloody, and the bruises and cuts were mostly healed.

"How's it coming?" Severus asked from the doorway.

"He's mostly healed," James answered, not even turning around.

"Come on," Severus said, pulling James from the room. When James protested, he explained. "I know exactly what you'll do. You won't leave him alone at least until he wakes up, and even then rarely. You are going to eat now so you don't pass out later. Now hurry up!"

"Fine, fine," James muttered, even though he knew Severus was right. He ate as fast as he could, and then ran back upstairs, leaving Severus alone in the living room with his book. By the time he got back up the stairs, Sirius was just starting to come around.

"How are you feeling?" James asked, sitting down in the armchair beside the bed.

"Awful," Sirius replied, groggily. "I'm sorry for coming like this. I just didn't know where else I could go."

"Shush, Padfoot, it's alright," James said soothingly. He asked, "Do you want anything?" but Sirius was already asleep again.

The next time Sirius woke up, he was in for a slightly unpleasant surprise.

"I _still_ think you should get Lupin to convince his mother to check on him. He _can't_ be alright. He's slept for at least 15 hours," a voice that he knew he had heard before said.

"Yeah, well, you'd be sleeping a lot, too, if you'd walked the whole way from London," James retorted. "And anyway, I'm going to as soon as he wakes up, and tomorrow if he doesn't."

"If you really think that's best," the voice said, clearly stating his opinion.

"Listen, I appreciate the help, but I really don't think there is immediate danger," James said.

"And being a doctor, you'd know that. Whatever. I'm going back downstairs. Will you be eating lunch?"

"Could you have Natty bring something up?"

"Yeah, sure," the voice answered, leaving the room.

"James?" Sirius called weakly.

"Yeah, Sirius? It's about time you woke up, I was getting worried," James said.

"Who was in here earlier?" Sirius asked.

"My new step-brother. Never mind him, however. Do you want anything to eat?" James said.

Sirius simply nodded. He closed his eyes again, trying not to fall asleep. He heard the door open.

"Where's Natty?" he heard James ask. Apparently this was the other voice, James's step-brother.

"She was cleaning, so I told her I'd get the food myself," the voice answered. With a start, Sirius realized just whose that voice was. He went still, pretending to be asleep until he heard Snape leave the room.

"So that's your new step-brother?" Sirius asked, sure that Snape had left the room.

"Yeah," James answered cautiously.

"Am I still welcome here?" Sirius asked.

"Of course," James replied, seeming genuinely shocked. "Why wouldn't you be?"

"Can you really ask that after what I did?" Sirius countered, pulling himself up into a sitting position.

"So you were an idiot," James shrugged. He sat next to Sirius, putting his arm around him. "Happens to the best of us. Anyway, do you really think Severus would have been half as concerned as he has been if he was still mad?"

"What about his mum?" Sirius asked, not baring to believe that he was actually completely forgiven.

"Well, besides the fact that she's not here," James started. At Sirius's puzzled look, he explained, "Dad and Paula got married a few days ago, and are on their honeymoon. They won't be back for quite a while. That's why we had Natty heal you as best as she could. Anyway, I think she'd rather you be here than at your house."

"Erm," Sirius said, confused. "Care to clarify?"

"I'd be glad to if I knew what exactly I meant," James shrugged. Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Well, it's nothing definite, just a feeling, and I'm not explaining any farther, so don't ask, mostly because I'm fairly sure I can't."

"Well fine then," Sirius shrugged.

"Is he awake, or are you just talking to yourself?" Severus asked, poking his head into the room.

"Both," James replied, glancing at the door.

"Is sanity the first thing to go?" Severus asked, falling back on the jibe he had used many times.

"No. We've been over this, it's the third. Is memory the first thing that Slytherins lose?" James dead-panned.

"Of course it is," Severus replied, rolling his eyes. "Right before honesty and integrity."

"Good to know where your priorities are," James answered. Sirius was almost in shock. He never thought that it would be possible for James and Snape to actually _talk_, and not only talk, but talk _civilly_.

"Anyway," Severus was saying, breaking Sirius out of his thoughts. "Here are some potions Natty sent up. She said that she would have brought them herself, but she's making a huge lunch, apparently."

"Thank you for bringing them up," Sirius said, shocking himself possibly more than he shocked Severus and James combined.

"Your welcome," Severus replied. He then turned to leave the room. "Don't forget," he said, turning back around. "That Mum and Jonathan are going to check in tonight." He then left the room.

"Oh shit," James muttered. "They'll floo in about 30 mintues," he said, glancing at his watch. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah," Sirius answered, sitting up. "Since when are you on friendly terms with Snape?"

"Since I got home," James answered. "I wasn't at first, but after my dad and I fought and made up, I decided it was probably easier to be friends, than to have everyone in the house, pretty much, against me. Anyway, are you strong enough to go down to the kitchen? Lunch'll be ready soon."

Sirius nodded, and tried to stand up. He had only gone about two feet towards the door, however, when he started to fall. James caught him before he hit the ground.

"Are you sure that you shouldn't just stay here?" James asked worriedly. Sirius shook his head, but continued towards the door. "As long as you're sure," James said, clearly amused. Sirius turned around to stick his tongue out at him, but stumbled again. Again, James caught him.

"You wouldn't think that being in bed for that long would make me this weak," Sirius said, trying to laugh.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe it's those healing charms Natty did," James said, uncertainly. Then he really looked at his boyfriend. He was just skin and bones! "Siri, when was the last time you really ate a full meal?"

"Um, ah, well," Sirius said, trying not to answer. "The Leaving Feast?"

"Have you ate anytime this summer?" James asked, hoping he had, but fearing the worst, especially from his friend's family.

"No," Sirius answered, looking at the floor.

"Alright, sit down," James said, growing paler by the second.

"But I don't want to be up here anymore," Sirius frowned. "I've got to keep my strength up."

"Huh-uh. Sit down. You walked all the way from London, and you haven't eaten an actual meal since we got out of school? Forget about keeping your strength up. How about just keeping it?" James said, clearly worried.

"I'll be fine," Sirius said. As if to prove his point, he headed out the door. He barely got through before his legs collapsed underneath him.

"Fine, huh?" James asked, him into the armchair. "You stay here, I'll get Natty to bring up whatever she can find." He came back shortly, followed by the house elf, who had a tray full of light food, like crackers, that you would normally feed people who had the flu or something and couldn't keep much down.

"Here, at least try to eat something," James said, as Natty sat the tray down beside Sirius. "I've got to go downstairs to talk to whichever one decides to floo tonight. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He ran back downstairs. It was really about 20 minutes until either his dad or Paula would fire-call, but he had to talk to Remus.

"Hi, Mrs. Lupin," he said, when he was finally connected. "Can I talk to Remus?"

"Sure, James," she said. "Remus!" He heard her call from the hallway outside of the living room.

When Remus finally appeared, James didn't waste anytime. "He's at my house," he said, expecting Remus to understand, which he didn't.

"James, if you must know, I had to wake up to talk to you. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't be so cryptic," Remus said.

"Fine," James said, rolling his eyes. "But, um," He stalled, motioning with his head at Mrs. Lupin, who had come back into the room to continue dusting.

"What? Oh!" Remus said, comprehension dawning. "Um, Mum? Could you leave us alone for a little bit?"

"Sure," Mrs. Lupin shrugged.

"Sirius came to my house a couple nights ago," James said, once she had left the room.

Remus looked shocked. "Is he alright?"

"When has he ever been alright when he ran away?" James pointed out. "He hasn't eaten since school let out, and he was beaten bad enough to break his arm, as well as a couple of ribs."

"Did you take him to St. Mungos?" Remus asked worriedly.

"I thought you were the smart one," James said, rolling his eyes. "The first thing that they would do would be to contact his parents. Believe it or not, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a good thing."

"Alright, alright," Remus said, holding up his hands in surrender. "No need to get so sarcastic. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, seeing as your Mum is a medi-witch…," James said, pretending to be leading up to a point.

"Alright, I get it," Remus said, rolling his eyes. "I'll see what I can do. But you know she hates him now."

"Will it change her mind if Severus has forgiven him?" James asked.

"You can't be serious," Remus said, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"Oh, but I am," James said, enjoying the effect he had on Remus. "He's been here for a couple of days, anyway, and despite all the occasions to poison him, he hasn't yet, nor has he made any attempt to kill him in any other way. He has also at the _very_ least expressed concern about him."

"Alright, alright, I get the point," Remus said. "I never would have thought that possible."

"Yeah, well, I've got my own theories on that, but I think I'll save them," James said, half to himself, half to Remus. "Anyway, will you at least ask your Mum?"

"Yeah, sure. I will right now if you want me to," Remus replied, getting up.

"Whenever. I've got to go now, though, because either Dad or Paula is about to floo to check up on us. See you later," James said as he disappeared into the fire.

Author's Note: How'd you like it? Thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter! Feel free to do so again! Review even if you haven't before, I'm not picky!


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